Individuals who feel rejected following relationship dissolution typically experience reductions in their health and wellbeing. Although feelings of rejection can be painful, the acquisition of a new romantic relationship can help to ease this pain. The goal of this study is to examine the direct and indirect effects of divorced residential mothers' rejection from the ex-spouse on their time to entering post-divorce romantic relationships. Results indicate that mothers' rejection from the ex-spouse is significantly associated with delays in repartnering. Results indicated two marginally significant indirect effects, providing some evidence that mothers' rejection from the ex-spouse and delayed repartnering is transmitted through decreases in mothers' depressive symptoms and increases in mothers' barriers to repartnering. These findings demonstrate the importance of promoting divorced mothers' self-perceptions following divorce.
Keywords: Divorce; repartnering; romantic re-inclusion; romantic rejection.